QUINCY’S SONG BY JACK KNOX

My husband, Jack Knox, Class of 1953, wrote this before he passed away for a Citadel classmate, Quincy Collins who spent seven years in a prison camp in Viet Nam. This is his quote,A few years ago I had the privilege of sitting next to a special classmate at a homecoming football game. It was a moment to reflect.

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QUINCY’S SONG by Jack Knox

We removed our hats and rose to our feet
On a day I’ll long remember,
When the snare drums rolled and the cymbals clashed,
And the band played the “Star Spangled Banner”.

With hands over hearts looking toward the flag,
We joined to sing along,
When a voice of inspiration
Was heard above the throng.

I turned and listened, and looked in awe
At Quincy, tall and proud.
His words were crisp as they flowed from his lips
And echoed through the crowd.

T’was a Star Spangled Banner waving somewhere, he knew,
And he’d never lost hope and his spirit never died.
T’was a Star Spangled Banner waving somewhere he knew,
And he’d stand again and sing those words with pride.

It’s been decades, now, since that Asian war,
A war some want to forget.
But, our flag was there, and brave men fought
When the odds were saying, “quit”.

His plane went down behind the lines
Way back in sixty-five,
And noone knew for a long long time
If Quincy was alive.

He spent seven years, some shackled,
In a lonely prison cell,
But, he kept his faith in America
While rotting in that hell.
T’was a Star Spangled Banner waving somewhere, he knew,
And he never lost hope and his spirit never died.
T’was a Star Spandled Banner waving somewhere, he knew,
And he’d stand again and sing those words with pride.

When I hear our Anthem from now on
I’ll think back and remember
When the snare drums rolled and the cymbals clashed,
And the band played the “Star Spangled Banner”.

And with hands over hearts looking toward the flag,
We joined to sing along,
When a voice of inspiration
Was heard above the throng.